Grief
by Gynednyssamm
Summary: A group of Rebels is targeted by Shinra and Sephiroth is sent to take them out. For the first time Sephiroth gets a real glimpse into the life of his victims.


* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy or any other game, reference, etc. I shove in here. I only own the characters and other stuff I make up!

Oneshot! Not really sure where I got the idea for this one. Had a similar idea, but never figured out what to do with that so I guess it just evolved into this one. Enjoy!

Ch. 1 Despair

Sephiroth makes his way to the president's office knowing what is to come. New orders. He could see that he was not the only one summoned, which is normal. The president likes to get things out of the way as quickly as possible. Sephiroth stood among them all listening to the president talk. Zack was there with him and so were the Turks. They were all being briefed about the rebels. President Shinra was only reading a report to them. Sephiroth always felt that this was so unnecessary.

A group of rebels were becoming a problem and he wanted them taken care of. It was really that simple, but he was dragging it out. They were growing in numbers and strengthening. That was not something Shinra would tolerate. They would be silenced.

Once orders were dispensed he and Zack left. The others stayed since they still had things to take care of. Zack had become very talkative lately. Ever since he had met that girl he was going on and on about how he wanted him to do the same, but Sephiroth was not interested in that.

"I hope this doesn't take too long. I have a date with Aeris tonight." Zack said.

"It shouldn't. They are still fairly weak."

"Not Rei. He's a pretty tough guy or so they say." Zack said.

"The rebel leader? We'll see when I kill him." Sephiroth said confidently. He never doubted that he could kill anyone.

"Right. How about after we're done you come with me to Aeris' place. She lives down in the slums nearby. You haven't met her yet."

"Probably not." Sephiroth said.

"Oh c'mon, Sephiroth. It won't kill you to meet her." Zack said.

Sephiroth sighed and was thankful that the elevator stopped. They were going to get their gear, but Zack just would not let it go. It was something he had been asking him to do for a while now and it was starting to get annoying. That was something Zack was very good at doing.

"Fine." He finally said giving up.

"Great! She'll be surprised." Zack said. "Oh and I think one of her friends will be there. She's staying there for a while." Sephiroth said nothing not really interested in it. He just knew that now he had to go somewhere with Zack and he really did not want to do it.

"Time to go."

* * *

They all gathered down in the slums. Sephiroth, Zack and ten regular soldiers. From the report they knew where they would be and when. They were in sector six all gathered together. It was the perfect time to go after them. They watched for a little bit making sure it was really them. Sephiroth was only taking the time to find their leader. He was the only one he wanted. He found him easily enough. He stood out from the rest of them. He could tell that he really was a strong leader.

He was tall and skinny, but Sephiroth could see that he was no weakling. His hair was styled very differently from the rest. It was black and his bangs covered one eye. the rest was short flaring out ever so slightly. He had dark eyes and an almost emotionless face. However, Sephiroth could see a fire within him. He was very passionate about what they were doing. He had a very deep hatred of Shinra. Sephiroth listened to him speak and almost felt his hate.

He was a good public speaker and got the rebels worked up. They shouted and raised their weapons up in response to his words. They seemed very energetic. He was merely giving them a pep talk at the moment. Sephiroth gave them the signal to get in position. It was time to end this. The soldiers lined up and all took aim and waited for him to give the order to fire. When it came they all fired into the rebels. He was glad to see that they got some of the better soldiers. He always felt so annoyed when they missed their targets.

The rebels were caught off guard and surprised by the sudden gunfire. However, they did react rather quickly. Rei shouted out orders as he ran trying to dodge the bullets. They all ran for cover and he ordered all of his gunman to fire back. They did once they found cover and the soldiers found themselves dodging a few bullets. They had already taken cover from the start. Sephiroth watched Rei and made sure to follow all of his movements. He had already sent Zack and a few soldiers to sneak up on them. They would have to go onto the roofs for that.

More gunfire erupted and Rei watched as more of his comrades went down. "Damn! How did they know?" He said as he counted how many were lost. "They've done well to cut our numbers." He said. He made his way around the back of the building trying to see who exactly they were dealing with. He saw the soldiers that were trying to ambush his friends. Something else caught his eye though. _Sephiroth?_ He was not sure at first if he were seeing things or not, but he after a second look it was confirmed. Sephiroth was there and that was a problem.

He stopped and watched Sephiroth make his way towards him. "Damn. This is bad." Sephiroth cut down anyone that was in his way as he came towards Rei. Rei could do nothing more than draw his sword and wait. He watched as his comrades fell one by one all of them no match for Shinra's demon.

"So we finally meet, Sephiroth." Rei said. He was in awe of how easily Sephiroth had killed them and without even showing any sort of emotion.

"You are, Rei, their leader." He said. Rei nodded. "I see." With that said he came at him faster than anything Rei had ever seen. He hardly had time to raise his sword to defend himself. "Most people can't even block my attacks. I'm impressed." Sephiroth said. He smirked seeming to enjoy it. Rei said nothing. When it came to fighting he preferred not to speak. Actions spoke so much louder.

He pushed Sephiroth away and attacked, but found Sephiroth quite capable of blocking all of his attacks. He was fast and Rei knew that he could not win this fight, but he could not just let him kill him. After that Sephiroth went on the offensive feeling that Rei was not strong enough to continue fighting. He had been going easy on him before giving him the chance to entertain him, but that was over now. Sephiroth viciously attacked knocking Rei's sword away from him and then swiftly stabbed him through the heart. Rei gripped the blade obviously feeling the pain.

He briefly looked at Sephiroth seeing no emotion at all in him. Rei had never felt such pain before. He knew that it was the end for him. He was going to die and he only felt regret. He looked down at his chest seeing white around his eyes. It was almost over. "Saya...forgive me." He whispered. Sephiroth heard him, but ignored it and placed a hand on his shoulder to pull out his sword. When he did Rei stumbled back and fell to the ground dead. He lay there staring blankly at the sky.

"Looks like we're done here. Now all that's left is for them to clean up the mess." Zack said glancing over at the soldiers. He looked around seeing some of the residents peeping out their windows at the scene. They were only curious, but he knew that they were all on the rebels side.

"He was stronger than most, but still..."

"Oh well." Zack said sighing. "Well...now it's time to go. Remember you said you'd come with me." Zack said smiling at him.

"I know."

When they got there they found her outside with her friend. Aeris greeted them with a smile, but her friend frowned at them and hardly said anything. Sephiroth knew that she also harbored hatred for Shinra and anyone associated with them. He wondered if she may be connected to the rebels somehow, but ignored it for now. He did not want to make a scene.

"I see you finally got him to come." Aeris said smiling at him. Sephiroth bowed to her and her friend as well trying to be polite. "Oh, this is my friend, Saya. She's a little shy." Sephiroth found himself looking around at all of the plant life there around her home. He was a little surprised to see such things growing in Midgar. It was simply unheard of. "I see you're admiring the flowers. I know they aren't something you normally see."

"No. Plants don't exactly grow here in Midgar." Sephiroth replied.

"There's a reason for that." Saya said glaring at him.

"Yes. I know." This only made her glare harder at him. He could see that she very much distrusted them. She did not even bother hiding her feelings towards them. It suddenly occurred to him that he had heard her name before. Rei had said her name before he died. It occurred to him that they must have been involved and at the moment she had no idea that he was dead. He could definitely tell where her hatred may have stemmed from. "I should go." He said. He had no intention of saying anything to her about Rei. He was not even sure it was really her he was talking about. They all said their goodbyes and he left. He had a lot to think about now. It was the first time he had ever learned more about his victim. He was actually a little bit curious about her and what Rei may have been like.

Saya let them know right away how she had felt about meeting him. She felt nothing, but contempt for him and for Zack. She let him know that the moment she knew that her friend was dating him. "I don't know how you can do it, Aeris."

"I know, but Zack is different. He's not like everyone else."

"So you tell me."

"I have to go now. I'll be back later ok." Saya nodded and watched Aeris leave with Zack for their date. She frowned at them. She just could not trust him no matter what Aeris said to her. She looked at the time and sighed. "Where are you?"

An hour later...

"I have to speak to Saya!" Someone said pounding on the door. Saya heard the commotion and came downstairs to find a friend of hers panting in the doorway. "Saya!" He said pushing Aeirs' mother aside. "Something's happened to Rei, Saya."

"What do you mean?" She said confused. She had always been afraid of those words. They meant so many things and she could only fear the worst. Ever since she learned about Rei leading the rebels she was afraid of hearing that he had died fighting Shinra. She almost did not want to even hear what he had to say.

"They were attacked not too long ago. Saya...Rei is dead." He said sadly. Most of the people that knew him loved him. Saya stood there in disbelief. She had dreaded this day and now she just could not believe it. She shook her head over and over and tears welled up in her eyes.

"No...it can't be. He..." She started sobbing and sinking to the floor.

"I'm so sorry. There was nothing any of us could do. All we could do was watch. I had to wait for them to leave before I could even come to tell you. Saya, Sephiroth killed him. He was strong, but he never stood a chance."

"What!!" She said looking up at him. "Sephiroth?!" She sobbed even more with that. _He was right there in front of me!_ "He...he was just here an hour ago."

"What? Why?" He said confused. He had no idea why that man would come there. He had guessed that the only reason he was down there in the slums was because of his mission, but coming here was different.

"Aeris' stupid boyfriend brought him." Saya answered. She was starting to feel angry and pounded her fists on the ground.

"What'll you do?" She just shook her head and stood up. She was far to distraught to think straight. Aeris' mother escorted her upstairs telling him that he should leave now. He had done enough to upset her. She took her to her room and sat her on the bed. Neither of them spoke. Saya just sat there crying and clenching her fists as she thought about what he had said. _Sephiroth...you killed him. Rei..._

Aeris returned a few hours later and found her mother sitting at the table waiting. Zack had come in as well and they both saw the look on her face. She was very worried about something. "Mother, what's wrong?"

"Saya...she found out that Rei is dead not too long after you left." She said.

"Really!? What happened." Her mother looked over at Zack. His reaction told her enough.

"Ask him. He seems to know." She said. Aeris just gave him a questioning look and he looked away.

"I had no idea she knew him."

"He was going to ask her to marry him." Aeris said sadly. "He was a good man. Perfect for her."

"Was he..." Zack sighed. "I'm sorry. Sephiroth and I were ordered to take care of the rebels. Sephiroth fought and killed him. He probably didn't know either. Don't really know what he'd say about this though."

"Does she know he killed Rei?" Aeris asked her mother. She just nodded. "I should talk to her."

"Guess I'll leave. I doubt that she'll want to see me."

"I'd rather kill you!" Saya said from the stairs. "You brought him here! That...MURDERER!" She shouted sounding angry and frustrated. "He was right there..." She said sobbing.

"Saya..." Zack wanted to say something to her to make things better, but he had no idea what to do. She just stood there shaking her head mumbling to herself. He knew that she just wanted to take out all of her anger and frustration on him because he was with Shinra and he was right there in front of her. "Whatever you do...it won't bring him back. Just honor his memory." Zack said. It was the only thing he could think to say. He said his goodbye's and left.

"I hate Shinra, and Sephiroth, and him!" Saya whispered. "They will pay!"

* * *

Zack went to work the next day feeling terrible. He felt bad for Saya, but did not know what to do. She had hated Shinra before and now she would only hate them more. _I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid._ He thought. Sephiroth joined him and noticed that something was wrong. It was not all that often that Zack looked serious.

"What's the matter, Zack?" He said finally.

"It's about yesterday. You remember Saya right?" He nodded. He did remember. He was sure that she was connected to Rei and the rebels somehow, but decided to ignore it. "Rei was her boyfriend. She knows that he's dead and that you killed him. She's so angry right now. I think she might try something. I just don't know. She's one of Aeris' best friends." He told him.

"I see. Then my suspicion was correct. Before he died he spoke her name."

"You knew?" He nodded.

"I wasn't sure, but now I am. Don't worry about it."

"Can't help it. What will you do if she comes after you. Will you kill her too?"

Sephiroth thought for a moment. He really was not sure what he would do if it came to that. "I don't see a reason to. She would only be reacting to something she couldn't control and something that I had to do. I had nothing against him. It's just my job." He stated.

"I don't know. I wanted to make her feel better. She looked like she'd been crying the whole time." He said. "I guess they were close. Aeris said that he was going to ask her to marry him soon."

"Guess that explains the ring in his personal affects."

"Really? He had it with him?" Sephiroth nodded and stood up. "If you want you can take it to her. Shinra has no reason to keep any of that so they will most likely dispose of it." Sephiroth said before leaving. It was a good idea and he decided to do it. Seemed like a waste to just have it destroyed. He could give it to her and then she would have that to remember him, but it would also be bittersweet for her. He guessed that she had no idea he was thinking of doing it.

He went to get the ring and made sure to look through everything else as well. He wanted to see if there was anything else worth saving. He did not find anything and left heading straight over to see Aeris and Saya. When he knocked he felt a little nervous. He was glad that Aeris answered. "Hi." He said. She smiled and let him in.

"Wasn't expecting you today. What brings you here?" She asked.

"Well, I brought this for Saya. It was in Rei's personal effects." He said holding out the ring to her. "I thought she might want to have it." Aeris took it and smiled slightly. She had seen it once before. She remembered him asking her what she thought of it. He wanted her opinion as to whether Saya would like it or not. This one had gotten a good review.

"I'll make sure she gets it." She said smiling. He hugged her before leaving. "Saya, I have something for you!" She said going upstairs. Saya had refused to leave the room, but did allow them to come in. It was better than having them annoy her by banging on the door wanting in. "Zack brought this. Rei had it when he died." She told her.

Saya looked it over and knew exactly what it was. "An engagement ring." She said. _He never even got to ask me._ She thought.

"I helped him pick it out." Aeris told her.

"How long did you know?"

"A few weeks. There was too much going on so he didn't ask sooner. I think he said that he was going to ask after their last operation." Saya just nodded,

"I see."

"I'll leave you alone now." Aeris said. She paused before she left. She could see him, Rei standing in the doorway staring right at Saya. He looked at her briefly, but said nothing. She left the room and closed the door. "If you want to say something to her let me know." She whispered knowing he would hear.

* * *

Sephiroth sat on the couch in his apartment sighing. He honestly hated how slow things were at the moment. The war was over and he had nothing to do, but paperwork. That in itself was something he really hated to do. It was boring and tedious. It was late and he was feeling tired. He knew that he had to get up early the next day. Still his mind would not be quiet. It had hardly been a week since he had met her and he could not get her out of his mind. His curiosity for the situation kept him up at night.

Some of the things that Zack said came back to him. He understood that she must feel a lot of things. He really could not understand them since he had no reason to feel that way. He had never felt that kind of sorrow. He closed his eyes and before he knew it he was asleep.

In the middle of the night a noise woke him slightly, but he ignored it until he heard footsteps. _It seems that I have a visitor._ He thought. It was dark, but he could see perfectly fine. However, the intruder could not and made more noise than he knew they intended. They stepped lightly and he took note of that. It meant that it was either a woman, or an assassin of some sort. He guessed that it was a woman. Once again Zacks words came back to him about that woman. Saya.

They were close. He chose not to open his eyes and pretend that he was still asleep. He listened very carefully to them and followed their movements. They moved slow in his presence trying so hard not to wake him. Once they were close enough he knew that they were armed. It was only a knife he could tell. The way it sounded as they struck at him proved it to him. He grabbed their wrist and opened his eyes.

"You..." He said recognizing her. "Saya." She struggled still trying to stab him. He chose not to squeeze her wrist knowing that he would end up breaking it. "Stop, Saya. I don't want to hurt you." He said.

"That never stopped you before! Do you even know anything about the people you kill! They have lives just like you and he never did anything wrong! You stole him from me!" She said in tears. She had finally stopped struggling.

"What did you hope to accomplish in coming here?" He asked.

"I-I don't know." She said. "Maybe I just want to die too. I loved him." She whispered.

"I don't know them." He said. "Maybe a name and a face, but that's it. I knew he led the rebels and that Shinra wanted them dead. Nothing more. I only did my job."

"How can you just do that?" She said angrily. She just could not understand how he could kill someone in cold blood for no reason. "He never hurt anyone. None of them did. They never intended to hurt people." She told him. He could see that she was seething with anger and despair over Rei's death.

"Because it's what I do. It's all that I have ever done." He said. He watched her sit there on the ground showing more emotion than anyone he had ever seen. He was fascinated, but he was not sure what to do with this.

"They were hardly a threat to Shinra. Those idiots just can't handle anyone being against them." She said clenching her fist. Sephiroth had already disarmed her, but she did not seem to realize that. "I want you to die for taking him away."

"It won't bring him back. It won't end your pain." He said. They were things he did understand. Nothing can bring back the dead. He really did not understand how she felt at the moment, but he knew that normally people did not get over something like this. He had heard it so many times from others. He was not really even sure if it were true himself.

"No...it won't, but it will be justice." She said. "No one gets to decide who lives and dies. No one is better than anyone else, especially not you!" She said her anger flaring up. "He was a good man. He helped the people of the slums and Shinra took everything he had. Then they took all that I had as well." She said looking to the floor. "My family died when our home was set on fire. Shinra did that because my father was part of the rebels."

Sephiroth had no recollection of that so he guessed that the Turks had taken care of that. "How long ago?"

"Two years ago." She said. "I had gone out with Aeris for the day. When I got home they were bringing out their burned bodies." She said remembering it very vividly. Sephiroth found himself seeing it as well. He could easily go into her mind to understand her and how she felt, but he rarely chose to do so. Others were far more emotional and irrational for him. He could not stand being in their minds. This time he chose to see. It felt important that he understand this.

He felt her pain, despair, sadness, anger, and hate. He saw that shortly after the fire she had met Rei. He had given her comfort and gave her something to do with her life. He even let her live with him once she felt comfortable with that. He noticed that she did not stay there when they were going on a mission. It was dangerous since he was their leader. She had no problem with what he was or what he did. He told her everything making sure that she understood exactly what he was trying to do.

By the looks of things Shinra really had no reason to fear them at all. They were more the peaceful type than anything. The reason he wanted them to be so excited was because he wanted them to appear friendly to the people. That way they would accept them more readily. They did quite a bit of stealing from the richer peoples living on the upper plate. They had even stolen from Shinra, but never attacked anyone. That was left up to the other factions of rebels. They were more prone to violence and Rei had no intention of stooping to that level.

He seemed to feel more inclined to help others than anything else. There had been one time when his group and another had teamed up. They were trying to disable one of the reactors. He was a very intelligent man and knew a lot about the subject. They had not done anything to hurt anyone. They simply put three of the reactors out of commission for a while. They had messed things up so much that it had taken nearly a year to get them working again.

All of that in a few seconds. Saya had started sobbing again. Sephiroth had no idea what to do next. He found himself rethinking what he had done and what he was going to do now. It just seemed strange to him that Shinra would want to get rid of them when there were obviously other rebels that deserved it more. From what he had seen in her mind Rei's group should have been overlooked. He knew that there were several factions out there in Midgar and that the majority of them were violent. Some of them had blown up trains killing quite a few innocent people.

"I don't know what to tell you. There is nothing that I can say to help you. I find it strange that Shinra chose his group over another when they are clearly less threatening." He said looking thoughtful.

"I don't want anything from you. I came her intending to hurt you, but I know that was foolish. Rei didn't even want to fight you. He said that he was sure you could beat him."

"Is that so...he seemed resigned to his fate. He knew he was going to die. He did say something before he died."

"What?" Saya said looking at him.

"He asked for you to forgive him."

Saya just stared at him looking very confused. She had no idea what he meant by that, but then she felt the ring on her finger. She looked at it holding her hand up slightly. _That's what he meant. He wants me to forgive him for dying before he could give me this._

"I see that you got it from Zack."

"Did you know...when you met me?" She said after a long silence.

"Not for sure, but I recognized your name. I wasn't sure if he meant you or not so I said nothing."

"Oh. That was probably a good idea." She said. She suddenly found her anger gone for the most part. Just the fact that she had confronted him seemed to make her feel better. She had gotten to tell him how she felt about what he had done. "I guess I'll go now. You won't say anything about this will you?" He shook his head.

"I see no reason to. It seems to have resolved itself. I know that you'll still hate me and Shinra, but you should just try to keep his memory alive." He said not really knowing what he meant by it. It just seemed like the right thing to say.

"I don't think he'd want me to be doing this anyway. He hated violence." She said before leaving. Sephiroth closed the door behind her and stood there staring out into space. He was thinking about what had just happened. Confronting him like that had let out a lot of her rage. She seemed to calm down more and more as time went by. He guessed that killing was something she had never done and might never do. _It's better that way._ He thought. _She shouldn't be a part of that. _He found himself thinking.

He felt a little different as well. Something about this whole experience had changed his perception of things ever so slightly. He knew that he could not just change and give up the only life that he knew. He did enjoy taking the life of others. He knew that it was part of his upbringing. It was so ingrained in him that he could not avoid it or deny it. He would definitely try to take a little more consideration into some of the things that Shinra asked of him. He could easily recall other missions that were questionable.

"I guess I'll just have to think more about what I do." He said. _I do hope that I never have to see her like that again. If so...then I may have to kill her._ He thought bitterly. He felt it would be a shame to have to kill her.

**Author: **Just an idea I got. Went a little differently in my head, but this is how it turned out when I started writing it. Started out as them going on a double date to get her to go out and be around people after Rei's death, but I changed my mind once I actually started typing it. Wasn't even going to start by talking about his death. Was just going work towards it when she talked about him to Sephiroth, but obviously things changed a lot.

Hope you liked it...if not...too bad.

Also won't be updating my Untitled this week since that chapter's not ready yet. Will try to have two next week to make up for it though! Sorry.


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